يا معرضا قد آن أن تتلفتا — Alarjani

يا مُعْرِضاً قد آن أَنْ تَتَلفَّتا

تَعذيبُ قلبِ المُستَهامِ إلى مَتى

O you who turn away, the time has come for you to turn back.

How long will you torment the heart of one crazed with love?

لم أجعَلِ الأحبابَ فيكَ أعادياً

حتى تكونَ لكُلِّهم بِي مُشمِتا

I did not make my loved ones enemies over you

only for you to give them all cause to gloat over me.

نذرَ الوشاةُ دَمي وتُصبحُ نادماً

إن لم تكُنْ مُتَبيَّناً مَتُثبِّتا

The slanderers have vowed my blood; you will come to regret it

if you are not discerning and careful to verify.

هي ليلةٌ عَلِقَ الرُّقادُ بناظري

فقَضى خيالُك فَرْضَ وَصْلٍ فُوِّتا

It was a night when sleep clung to my eyes,

and your phantom fulfilled the duty of union that had been missed.

لا مُتِّعتْ عَيْنايَ منك بنَظْرةٍ

إن عادتا من بَعْدِ ذاك فأغفَتا

May my eyes never enjoy a glimpse of you

if ever after that they return to slumber.

قد طَلَّق العَينَيْنِ طَيفُك ساخطاً

فَلَه اللّيالي عَدَّتا واعتدَّتا

Your phantom, displeased, has divorced my eyes;

for it they counted the nights and observed their waiting period.

وأَظُنُّ أنّ سَوادَ إنسانَيْهما

لهما حِدادٌ للمُصابِ أحَدَّتا

I think the blackness of their two pupils

is mourning garb for them: they mourn the calamity.

يا ناسيَ المِيعادِ من سُكْرِ الصبا

بعَذابِ هَجْرِك كم ترَى أن تُعنِتا

O you who forget the tryst, drunk with youth,

how long do you mean to afflict me with your desertion's torment?

مَن لي لِيُطْلِقَ رَسْمَ قُبلةِ عارضٍ

قد كان في ديوانِ وَعْدِك أُثبِتا

Who will release to me the allotted kiss upon a cheek,

already entered in the register of your promise?

واحْلُلْ مَهبَّ الريحِ من أصداغهِ

يَستَغْنِ قَومُك أن يَؤُمُّوا تُبَّتا

And free the breeze to blow from his temple-locks:

your people will have no need to journey to Tibet.

لا تَجعلَنَّ لنَيْلِ وَصْلِكَ مَوعِدي

بمُرور يومٍ للزّمانِ مُوَقِّتا

Do not fix my appointed time for winning your union

by timing it to the passing of a day.

يومُ المُتَيَّم منك حَولٌ كاملٌ

يتَعاقَبُ الفصْلانِ فيه إذا أتى

A day for the man lovesick over you is a whole year,

in which two seasons alternate whenever it comes:

ما بينَ نارِ حشاً وماءِ مَدامعٍ

إنْ حَنَّ صافَ وإن بكَى وَجْداً شَتا

between the fire of the breast and the water of tears.

When he yearns, it is summer; when he weeps for love, winter.

للهِ ظَبْيٌ كلّما عَرَضوا له

صَرَعَ الرُّماةَ بمقلتَيْهِ وأفلَتا

By God, what a gazelle! Whenever they confront him,

he fells the archers with his two eyes and escapes.

ويَضُجُ منّي كلُّ مَنْبِت شَعْرةٍ

فيما أُجِنُّ ولو خَرِسْتُ تَزَمُّتا

And every hair-root in me cries out

with what I conceal, though I grow mute from restraint.

وإذا عتَبْتُ من الإقامةِ بينهم

قالَ الزّمانُ يداكَ فاعلَمْ أَوْ كتا

When I complain of remaining among them,

Time says, “Know this: your own hands did the tying.”

فَضْلي لأوّلِ نَظْرةٍ مَتَبَرِّجٌ

دَعْ مَن يُقلِّبُ طَرْفَهُ مُستَثْبِتا

My excellence is plainly displayed at the first glance;

leave aside whoever turns his gaze about to make sure.

وطَريقتي حَسْناءُ إلا أنّها

مُحتاجةٌ معَ حُسْنِها أن تُبخَتا

My way is beautiful, yet

for all its beauty, it still needs good fortune.

أمّا القريضُ فكان غايةَ بارعٍ

يَوماً إذا أسمَعْتُهُ أن يَبْهَتا

As for poetry, the utmost a master could do

on a day when I recited it to him was to stand amazed.

ما زِلتُ فيه لناطقٍ ولسابقٍ

طلَعا أمامي مُسْكِتاً ومُسَكِّتا

In poetry I was always, to speakers and forerunners

who appeared before me, one who silenced and subdued.

قد كان ذلك مرّةً فاليومَ لا

أغدو لناشئةِ القريضِ مُربِّتا

That was once; today I no longer

go forth encouraging poetry's new generation.

لم يُبقِ لي من بحر هزْلٍ مُغرَفاً

ضَجري ولا في صَخْرِ جِد مُنحَتا

No place to draw from the sea of jest has been left me

by my weariness, nor a place to carve in earnestness's rock.

إن ماتَتِ الهمَمُ العليّة في الورى

فيَحُقُّ أن تَجِدَ الخواطرَ أمْواتا

If lofty aspirations die among humankind,

then rightly you will find poetic thoughts dead.

لا تَعْجَبنْ من شَدِّ عُقْلِ شواردي

في الصدر حتى ما يطقن تفلتا

Do not marvel that I tighten the hobbles of my wandering verses

within my breast until they cannot break free.

كذب المدائح كلُّها فمقتُّها

ولقد يهون الشيء حتى يمقتا

All panegyrics are falsehood, so I loathed them;

a thing may indeed grow so base that it is detested.

إلا مديحَ جمالِ دينِ مُحَمّدٍ

ومَنِ المُطيقُ لمجْده أن يَنْعتا

Save praise of the adornment of Muhammad's faith—

and who can describe his glory?

ولسانُ أُمّتِهِ الذي من طاعةٍ

لِمقالِه اسَتمع الزّمانُ وأنصتَا

And the spokesman of his community, to whom, obediently,

Time listened and gave ear when he spoke.

علَمُ الهدَى إن سِيلَ عن عِلم الهدى

نثَر الجواهرَ شارحاً ومُنكِّتا

The banner of guidance: if asked about guidance's knowledge,

he scatters jewels, expounding and making subtle points.

فإذا الكلامُ تَطاردَتْ فُرسانُه

شاهدْتَ سيفَ اللهِ منه مُصْلتا

When the horsemen of discourse charge at one another,

you behold God's sword unsheathed in him.

وإذا أُتيحَ مَواقفٌ مَشهودةٌ

ٌفي نصرِ دينِ اللهِ إن باغٍ عَتا

And whenever renowned encounters are afforded

in defense of God's faith, if a tyrant rebels,

نادَى المُنادي من رَفيعِ سَمائه

ألا فتىً إلا سليلُ ابنِ الفتىَ

the herald calls from his lofty heaven:

“No gallant but the scion of Ibn al-Fata!”

مَولىً إذا ما شاء جار على الفتى

وأجارَ مِن عَضِّ الزّمانِ المُسحَتا

A lord who, if he wills, oppresses the gallant,

and shelters the destitute from Time's bite.

ما عادَ مَنْ يَلْقاهُ إلا قائلاً

يا ابنَ الفَتى للهِ دَرُّك مِن فتى

None who meets him returns without saying,

“O Ibn al-Fata, God be praised for you—what a gallant!”

يَهَبُ النّوالَ معَ العلومِ مع العُلا

هل ماجدٌ في الدّهر يأتي ما أتى

He bestows bounty along with learning and high distinction.

Has any noble man ever done what he has done?

ماضي العزائمِ جُودُ أسحمَ أوطَفٍ

قد شِيبَ فيه ببأسِ أغلَبَ أهْرَتا

Resolute in purpose: the bounty of a dark, heavy-fringed cloud

is blended in him with the might of a thick-necked, wide-mouthed lion.

ذو مُعْجِزٍ من بِشْرِه في وَجْهِه

مهما بدا أحَيا رجاءً مَيتَا

There is a miracle in the cheerfulness of his face:

whenever he appears, he revives a dead hope.

وإذا يداهُ أسنتا بعَطيّةٍ

نَصرْتُكَ حتّى لم يُبَلْ إن أسنَتا

When his two hands lavish a gift,

it aids you so fully that it matters not if they run dry.

صدْرُ الشّريعةِ والأئمَّةُ كُلُّهم

كالسّاعدَيْنِ بِجانبيهِ احتَفَّتا

He is the breast of sacred law, and all the imams

have gathered at his sides like two forearms.

إن قال أسكَت كلَّ فَحْلٍ هَدْرُه

وثنَى لسانَ الخَصْمِ يَحْكي أُسكُتا

When he speaks, his bellow silences every mighty bull camel,

and folds back his opponent's tongue, leaving him like a mute.

وتَخالُ في النادي فُصولَ كلامهِ

دُرًّا تَبَدَّدَ عِقْدُه فَتَبتَّتا

In the assembly, you imagine the passages of his speech

to be pearls whose necklace has broken, scattering them apart.

وكأنّما الجوزاءُ فوق سَمائها

للالتقاطِ له يَداها امتَدَّتا

As though al-Jawza, above her heaven,

had stretched out both her hands to gather them.

يا أوحداً للعصرِ أصبح صِيتُه

يومَ الفَخارِ لكُلِّ جَرْسٍ مخفِتا

O unrivaled man of the age, whose renown

on the day of vaunting silences every other sound!

قَضتِ الخِلافةُ بالعلا لكَ في الورى

فانظُرْ لحَقِّ عُلاك مَن قد ثَبّتا

The caliphate has decreed your supremacy among mankind;

behold who has affirmed your rightful eminence.

والشّاهدانِ الدَّولتانِ على عُلا

لك سَلَّمتْ وجميعُ مَن قد ضَمَّتا

The two states bear witness to an eminence

they concede to you, as do all whom they embrace.

فَمنِ المُطيقُ جُحودَ فَضْلٍ حُزْتَهُ

وبه العِدا والحاسدون أَقَرَّتا

Who can deny the excellence you have attained,

when enemies and enviers alike have acknowledged it?

أما العَدو فكَم طغَى لكنْ أبَى

رَبُ السماء له سوى أنْ يُكْبَتا

As for your enemy, how often he transgressed! But

Heaven's Lord would allow him nothing but abasement.

شَهِدتْ لك الحُسّادُ نَيْلَ مَراتبٍ

عَذَروا لها الأكبادَ أن تَتَفَتتَّا

Your enviers testified that you attained ranks

for which they forgave livers their shattering.

أَحَسودَهُ خفِّضْ عليك فطالما

أصبَحْتَ طالبَ غايتَيْهِ فأعْيَتا

O you who envy him, spare yourself; how often

you pursued his twin summits, and both defeated you.

يا مَن أُودِّع قبل توديعي له

نَفْساً ورُحاً في ذُراهُ تَربَّتا

O you—before I bid you farewell, I bid farewell

to a self and spirit nurtured in your lofty shelter.

قَسَماً بمَنْ حَجَّ الحجيجُ لبَيْتِه

حتّى يُزارَ مُصبَّحاً ومُبَيَّتا

I swear by Him to whose House the pilgrims journey,

so that it is visited at dawn and at night:

ما عن رِضاً منّي أُفارقُ خِدْمتي

مَن قَتْوُه شَرفٌ يُعَدُّ لِمَن قَتا

it is not willingly that I leave my service to

one whose service counts as honor for whoever serves him.

مع أن حُبَّكَ لم يَدَعْ لي فُرْطةً

من جانبي لِمُقَدَّمٍ مُتَلفَّتا

Even though love for you has left me no opportunity

to turn from my place toward any other leader,

لكنَّ داعيةَ الضَّرورة طالَما

منَعتْ بها قَدَمَ الفتَى أن تَثْبُتا

yet the call of necessity has so often

prevented a young man's foot from remaining firm there.

ووَدِدْتُ عند صَلاةِ مَدْحِكَ مُصبحاً

بشِكايةِ الأيّام ألا أَقْنُتا

I wished, at dawn, in the prayer of praising you,

not to offer a supplication of complaint against the days.

ومتى تُبدَّلُ قَوْلتي يا لَهْفتي

عند الإيابِ بقَولَتي يا فَرْحَتا

And when will my cry, “Alas for me!”

be changed, on my return, to “Oh, my joy!”?

فلوِ استَطعْتُ لصُمْتُ عن كلّ الورى

صَوْماً لِنيَّتِه أكونُ مُبيِّتا

So if I could, I would fast from all mankind—

a fast whose intention I would form by night—

حتى أعودَ مُعَيّداً بكَ راجياً

في حَسْبتي للعَوْدِ ألا أغْلَتا

until I return to celebrate the feast with you, hoping

not to err in my reckoning of the return.

فأْذَنْ جُعِلْتُ لكَ الفدىمن ماجدٍ

فالأَمْرُ أمرُك نافِياً أو مُثْبِتا

Grant me leave, then—may I be your ransom, noble sir—

for the decision is yours, to refuse or confirm.

اِحفَظْ مكاني في فؤادِك غائباً

حِفْظي مَكانكَ من لِساني يَثْبتُا

Keep my place in your heart while I am absent;

my keeping your place upon my tongue shall remain firm.

لك مَحْضُ شُكري والشِّكاية كلُّها

لِصُروفِ دَهْرِكَ لم يَزلْ لي مُعْنِتا

To you belongs my pure gratitude; all my complaint

is against your age's vicissitudes, which have ever afflicted me.

سيكونُ مُنشِدَ مَدْحِ مَجْدِكَ في البِلَى

عَظْمي وإن هو في الضّريحِ تَرفتا

The praises of your glory will still be sung, amid decay,

by my bones, even when they crumble in the tomb.

ولَوَ أنَ أرضاً للمَدائح أَنبتَتْ

أضحى ثرىً قد ضَمَّني لك مُنبِتا

And if earth could bring forth praises,

the dust enclosing me would sprout them for you.

فاسعَدْ بصَوْمٍ أنت فيه وقبلَه

ما زلْتَ للهِ المُنيبَ المُخْبِتا

Rejoice in a fast: during it and before it, you

have always turned to God, humble and penitent.

واسَعدْ كذاكَ بِعيدهِ وبِعوْدِه

في العِز ما غَنَّى الحَمامُ وصَوّتا

And rejoice likewise in its feast and its return,

in glory, as long as doves sing and call.